General Membership meetings are for all adult, associate and youth squad members. Prospective members in the squad are also welcome and encouraged to attend. These meetings are important for transacting squad business, communicating and clarifying information and meeting new members. We try and keep the meetings short and focused and not go over items covered in other communication vehicles. We ask that you carry out your responsibility as an interested member of the organization and make every effort to attend these meetings.

Squad Elections
Nominations and elections for 2005 Squad officers and Directors were held at the December General membership meeting.
Elected as 2005 Officers were:

Elected to the Board of Directors were:
Active members: Kelly Johnson, Mark Ramos, Warren Weiss and Justin Young
Associate Members: Phil Konigsberg and Sam Merel
The officers are also members of the Board.
The position of Financial Secretary as well as six (6) Associate member seats on the Board of Directors remain open. We will try and fill the vacancies at the January membership meeting.

Ambulance 5 Sold
The vehicle was sold to Bio-Recovery, Inc. The firm is run by Ron Gospodarski and specializes in crime scene and hazardous conditions clean ups. The vehicle was delivered to the buyer on Tuesday 12/28/04. Ron Gospodarski also serves as Chairman of the Board of Ridgewood VAC.

Fund Drive
The first fund drive mailing for 2004 was about 13,000 pieces and went out in mid May. It was stuffed and labeled by the FEGS group at the Samuel Field Y on Little Neck Parkway. From 5/17/04 to 9/13/04 we received 461 donations totaling $12,156.

The second general fund mailing has gone out using up the last of the leftover self mailers we had from prior yearís mailings. This was labeled by the FEGS group at the Samuel Field Y.
09/14/04 2,510 pieces were sent to ZIP 11364
09/23/04 3,000 pieces were sent to ZIP 11364
10/06/04 2,217 pieces were sent to ZIPs 11423 and 11427

2004 Building Fund
The 2,800 piece mailing was stuffed and labeled by the handicap group at the Samuel Field Y and went to the Post Office over a two day period December 16 and 17.

QA/QI Meetings
The West Queens Volunteer Ambulance Association sponsored QA/QI group, of which the squad is a member, will have its next meeting at Forest Hills VAC starting at 8:00 PM on Tuesday 3/1/05. The squad is required to have a quality assessment / improvement program that involves a doctor and some non-member participants and participating in the West Queens group satisfies this requirement.

Regional EMS Council Of NYC
Liz Donnelly, EMT-P who was the ALS and REMAC coordinator has left the organization as of the first week in January. She took a position with Cardiac Science Corp. involving the NYC Department of Educationís AED in schools project.

News About NYC Emergency Service Providers

AMBULANCE CRASHES

NORTH SHORE-LIJ 911 system unit on Tuesday morning 12/28/04 was involved in a serious collision at Queens Boulevard & 67 Avenue in Rego Park. The full sized dual rear wheel Type III vehicle was flipped on its left side with the ambulance driver and the driver of the other vehicle both pinned inside their vehicles. Both were taken to Elmhurst Hospital with what are described as serious injuries. The ambulance was not transporting any patients at the time.

NORTH SHORE-LIJ 53(D) unit on Sunday morning 1/9/05 transporting a patient was involved in a collision at Hillside Avenue and 168 Street. There were no injuries but patient care had to be transferred to another crew.

FDNY 47 Battalion unit on Wednesday morning 1/12/05 at Rockaway Freeway and Beach 94 Street in Rockaway on the way to a reported cardiac arrest was involved in a collision while attempting to pass another vehicle on the left. The ambulance hit a pillar for the elevated A train. Both crew members were transported to Jamaica Hospital with one treated & released but the other was in critical condition a day later. The car driver was arrested for leaving the scene plus an outstanding Nassau County arrest warrant for larceny.

NYS Senator Frank Padavan announced he had secured legislative grants for volunteer squads in his district including:

Glen Oaks VAC  $5,000

Jamaica Estates-Holliswood-South Bayside VAC  $5,000

Queens Village-Hollis-Bellerose VAC  $30,000

There are 5 other volunteer squads in the Senatorís district which also received grants as part of the more than $2 million that Padavan has assisted organizations and other non-profits.

FDNY

EMS Protective Clothing Pilot Program began on Monday 1/10/05 to field test protective clothing that is compliant with the NFPA 1999 Standard on Protective Clothing for Emergency Medical Operations (2003 Edition). This pilot program is part of the Strategic Initiatives of the Department. The protective clothing ensemble consists of bunker gear style coat and pants, boots, and gloves. The coat and pant are either dark blue or tan color, depending on the manufacturer, and has lime-yellow retro-reflective stripes similar to bunker gear. This protective clothing affords protection against blood-borne pathogens. It also affords limited splash protection to common chemicals, and very limited protection to flame. EMS personnel so equipped, shall wear this protective clothing at Mass Casualty Incidents, motor vehicle accidents, hazardous material incidents, any assignment requiring blood-borne pathogen protection, and any assignment involving a fire, structural collapse, or other extenuating circumstance where the member would be afforded the additional protection provided by this equipment.

Medical training surveys were distributed to firefighters asking for their certification levels of emergency medical training. It is not known for what purpose this information is being collected. The firefighterís union feels FDNY is bypassing it in communicating with the union members and has advised its members not to complete any questionnaires regarding their emergency medical training levels.

New radio code has been added:
10-39 FD Standing By: FD Units standing by at interagency incident, e.g. standing by at a suspicious package

MOUNT SINAI HOSPITAL-QUEENS has completed renovation of its Emergency Department. The hospital is located at Crescent Street and 30 Avenue in Long Island City and is the only hospital serving northwestern Queens. Last year, the hospital's emergency department treated 40,000 patients.

Courses
For a complete listing of upcoming basic and refresher EMT and CFR courses in the city please call the
Regional Emergency Medical Services Council of NYC at (212) 870-2301 or check their web site at www.nycremsco.org.
Information on Red Cross CPR courses is available by calling (800) 514-5103.

DEFENSIVE DRIVING COURSES AT FDNY ACADEMY: Save 10% on your car insurance. Remove up to 4 points off of your license. For dates & to reserve a seat call: 718 352-3009. Presented by certified NTSI EVOC Instructors. One 6 hour class held at the EMS Academy Ft. Totten. Cost is $26.00 for FDNY members and $35.00 for non-members.

EMT REFRESHER 2/26/05 to 5/19/05, Saturdays, 9:30 AM to 5:00 PM at Forest Hills VAC. The first four (4) classes are mandatory for all participants. Other classes will be required for those whose written and/or practical exam scores are below the required standard. CIC: Thomas Dematas.

Funded (tuition free) seats are available for bona-fide members of volunteer services with NYS DOH Form 3312 Verification of Membership in a NYS EMS Agency signed by a squad officer. For others, the tuition is: EMT BASIC COURSE: $750.00 EMT REFRESHER COURSE: $350.00.

FIRE EXPO 2005, Friday May 20 to Sunday May 22, 2005 at the Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex, Harrisburg, PA. Admission $7.00. 350 vendors and over 225 emergency vehicles are expected to be displayed. This is one of the largest Fire-EMS-Rescue shows in the country with annual attendance running over 22,000. For more info go to the web site at http://www.lcfa.com/EXPO

PULSE CHECK 2005, the 50th Annual Educational Conference & Trade Show of the NYS Volunteer Ambulance & Rescue Association will be held Thursday 9/22/05 to Sunday 9/25/05 at the Hudson Valley Resort, Kerhonkson, Ulster County, NY - only 90 minutes from NYC. Event features seminars, exhibits, awards dinner and the country's only statewide EMT and CFR team skills competition. For information call (877) NYSVARA or e-mail pulsecheck2000@aol.com

VITAL SIGNS CONFERENCE 2005, Friday, October 14, 2005 to Sunday, October 16, 2005 in Rochester, NY. Sponsored by the NYS DOH Bureau of EMS. Includes general sessions, workshops, exhibits and awards banquet. For information contact Donna Gerard at (518) 402-0996 extension 3 or check the web site at www.health.state.ny.us/nysdoh/ems/vitalsigns.htm